The Exorcist: Flying Nuns and Super Priests

We open with Tomas conducting mass. St Anthony’s looks spruced up, so maybe not all of Maria Walter’s devil-money went for the search. There’s a big poster of Casey. Uh-oh. Is this a memorial? Probably not, unless we’re going the possessed zombie route, but just to keep us guessing there’s a flashback to “9 Days Earlier,” when Marcus decided to call Tomas for a ride, and they took Casey over to Mother Bernadette’s.

Marcus tells Tomas that they are dealing with a demon with a forty-year grudge, or maybe it’s a forty-year torch – and Angela/Regan is the one who got away. Marcus is not taking chances this time. He makes Tomas pinky swear not to tell Angela they found Casey.

Back at mass, nine days later, Tomas asks the congregants to pray for Casey’s safe return, so it looks like she’s still alive — maybe.

Over at the convent, Marcus and Bernadette are having a theological discussion. Bernadette is worried there’s been so little progress, and if they fail the “an ancient violence” will be “released” on the world. But isn’t that what usually happens when the demon is forced to leave it’s host? Don’t they just go elsewhere? Could we get a better explanation of this stuff?

While people are searching through weeds for Casey’s body, the Bishop chats with Tomas. He’s willing to mia culpa on not approving the exorcism earlier, but right now the church would like to avoid bad publicity, and the involvement of the ex-Father Marcus an “enemy of the church” in an “unauthorized exorcism” that went bad would not be a good headline prior to a papal visit, so could Tomas please stop lying about not knowing where Marcus is? Say one thing about the Bishop, he always knows when Tomas is lying – but maybe that’s because Tomas lies a lot.

It’s a pretty face, but not much of a poker face

The family Rance, plus Chris (Queen o’ the Tabloids) MacNeil are gearing up for an interview, but before Chris is even ready for her close-up, the reporter brings up Georgetown, and Angela takes off her mike, and starts to walk out. Chris tells the reporter that this is not what they agreed to, but the reporter is still asking questions – specifically about the crash that left the two medical workers dead, and the “incident” on the el, which Kat dismisses as a rumor.

Get the feeling Chris is enjoying the attention just a lil’ bit?

Meantime, Tomas has joined the fun at the convent. Casey is strapped down on the floor with her legs bound and her arms out to the sides so she looks kind of like … well you know. She’s writhing, and doing some crazy telekinesis, which includes getting a nun airborne and smacking her against the wall. She bites Tomas’ hand. He goes to put some aloe on it, and Marcus and he chat. Marcus tells Tomas he almost drowned Casey at the lake, but then “God woke up from his nap” and ripped through Marcus’ hands and brought her back.

Tomas sounds skeptical, to remind us that he’s the Scully in this relationship, and asks, “You felt God in your hands?” in a tone that suggests that that is just some crazy shit – which seems a little strange given that he just saw a nun go flying across the room and it wasn’t even in San Juan on a windy day.

The good kind of flying nun.

Tomas asks what is up with this God what saves Casey but also saves the demon.

Marcus tells him that theirs is not to ask, which is television for : “The writers have no idea, so let’s move on.”

Outside of the Rance home there are a whole mess o’ press, plus the widow of one the unfortunate African American victims – not of the organ thieves but of Casey’s escape. The widow who is big with child and has a little one by her side, starts yelling at Angela about her “devil daughter.”

And later that day, the bereaved widow was shot by the cops.

Remember how Bennett is there as an agent of the Vatican’s “security force” which is even more badass than Homeland‘s CIA? It’s his official duty to make Chi-town safe for the Pope’s upcoming visit. He’s with the Bishop – whom we still don’t know for sure is on Team Jesus or Team Satan, Police Superintendent Jaffey – who is definitely of the devil, Maria Walters who finances Satan’s business, and OMIGOD “Brother Simon” aka Satan’s emissary. You’d think given that Bennett knows by this point what Tattersal is and that Maria finances it, he’d just cancel the whole thing, but apparently, much like knowing God’s will, that’s above his paygrade. He doesn’t even have the authority to change the new route they have planned which will be a security nightmare. So instead he just asks in a super British way who the hell Simon is and why he’s even in the room. He also lets them know that he knows about all the money a “bankrupt” company has been throwing toward the papal visit. Tipping your hand this way, doesn’t seem like the smartest move, but it does seem totally like the type of move someone would make on a television show before being unfortunately demised shortly thereafter.

Seriously, does every black person on this show have to die?

Meantime, it’s now week two of Casey’s disappearance and Tomas is chatting with Chris who tells him how much he reminds her of one of the priests who died trying to save Regan. I don’t think that came out as reassuring as she meant it to. Angela has now moved from copious amounts of wine to hard liquor – which does at least give her the opportunity to bond some with her boozy mom. Tomas continues to lie to the family Rance, insisting he doesn’t know where either Marcus or Casey are.

Tomas then returns to Bernadette’s home for Awesome Sisters where Casey is doing worse than before. We are reminded yet again that she could die – soon and painfully. Marcus talks to Sister Bernadette who would like to please put Casey out of her misery with some of that belladonna they keep around for just such a purpose. Does the convent have a graveyard where they secretly bury their victims? Or do they just store them in the cellar like some Catholic version of Arsenic and Old Lace?

Marcus tells Bernadette he’s going to keep trying. Tomas, back at Bernadette’s, takes another look at Casey who is now barely conscious. He tells Marcus that they have to tell the family, so that they can say good-bye, but Marcus says no to that too because he’s going to save her just like he saved that little boy in Mexico. Okay, bad example. Then Casey sheds tears, which apparently demons can’t do. Or can they? And mumbles, “No more,” in what sounds like Casey’s voice.

Bennett is checking out ye olde Tattersal warehouse and crematorium. Even though smell-o-vision never really caught on, we can tell there’s a horrific odor because of acting. Thanks to a buzzing flashing fluresent light, we get a tiny glimpse of the Schizophrenic standing behind Bennett, and also a glimpse of a whole mess of big knives on the wall. Bennett opens a door to a roomful of corpses and is then attacked, first by the Schizophrenic who grabs the steel baton Bennett has. Bennet grabs it back and the Schizophrenic leaves the room. But then another guy comes in. Bennett quickly twists his neck, but a third even bigger one grabs a knife. Father Bennett, it seems, has superpowers of his own. He pushes the knife away, wrestles him to the ground, and gives his assailant extreme unction before killing him. How bad-ass is that?

So while Marcus is exorcizing, and Bennett is physically assaulting evil, what’s Tomas doing? Tomas who has proven himself to be useless thus far is sleeping with Jessica again.

Tomas clearly didn’t plan for this to happen or he would have manscaped.

Jessica wants to know what happened to his hand – the one Casey bit – which isn’t looking too good. He doesn’t tell her, which is probably a good thing given the long-game Satan seems to be playing. So if he’s smart enough to know not to trust her with the intel, why is he dumb enough to be there?

Later, Tomas goes to a drug store to get something for the demon bite on his hand. He winds up getting into a fight with some dude who wants his autograph. Who does he call to bail him out? Maria Walters of course. He has a nice little chat with her where he probably tells her too much, although we don’t know exactly what he tells her, and really this guy is not a good reader of character is he? And you’d think Bennett and Marcus would maybe have warned him that Maria is evil wouldn’t you?

Over at the Convent of the Chosen Nuns, Bernadette gives Marcus a note telling him it’s time to let Casey go.

Tomas goes over to the Rance house where Kat warns him that Angela isn’t doing so well. Angela’s cowering in the shower having television’s version of a “nervous breakdown” or what we’ve been doing in my house on a daily basis since election eve.

Angela tells him she could “feel” Casey before, but today she just feels empty and is pretty sure Casey is gone. Sister, I feel the same way about my country!

Marcus is seriously about to pour the belladonna down Casey’s throat, which given the Church’s stand on assisted suicide/euthanasia seems unlikely, but then again he’s being pushed by those rebellious sisters who the last guy probably excommunicated.

Ultimately, Marcus just can’t do it, and announces that God has his hands and he’s not going to interfere. But you know who has interfered? Tomas that’s who. He’s brought Angela – the thing Marcus told him not to do because it was EXACTLY what the demon wanted, and sure enough, a suddenly very much alive Casey announces – daemonium in voce – and with the same smirk she had when she was on the stretcher being removed from the Rance home, “The sow.”

“Hi Mom!”

Looks like we’re off to the races.

Will the demon repossess Regan? And will that go straight to video like the 1990 movie? Will Marcus finally beat up Tomas for being a screw up, which might drive the young priest straight into the arms of Satan? Guess we’ll have to wait till Friday to find out. Meantime, feel free to share your predictions and theories in the comments below.